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Kolhapur with highest Covid fatality rate in Maharashtra; experts visit city
According to Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao, for a week now, Kolhapur has been witnessing a surge in the number of daily Covid cases and the average CFR is also above 3.4% against the state’s 1.3%. During the previous wave too, Kolhapur’s CFR touched 4%
The Maharashtra government has sent a team of doctors and experts from the divisional task force to Kolhapur as the district witnessed a sharp rise in the Covid-19 case fatality rate (CFR). The spike in CFR, the proportion of people who die from a disease among all diagnosed with it, is the highest in the state.
According to Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao, for a week now, Kolhapur has been witnessing a surge in the number of daily Covid cases and the average CFR is also above 3.4% against the state’s 1.3%. During the previous wave too, Kolhapur’s CFR touched 4%.
“Team of experts from divisional task force, including state advisor for Covid Dr Subhash Salunkhe, Dr Arti Kinikar and Dr Dilip Kadam, visited Kolhapur to assess the reasons why its CFR is on the higher side. The team will submit its report within two days,” said Rao.
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As of Wednesday, Kolhapur district reported total 82,763 cases with 2,840 fatalities.
From April 28 to May 4 and from May 5 to May 11, the state’s CFR was 1.34% and 1.32% respectively. “Kolhapur’s CFR from the same period was 2.3% and 2.9% respectively. But if we see the average, it is above 3.5%,” said Rao.
Rao said there a pattern being witnessed with districts with fewer cases are now reporting higher numbers. “The surge in Pune district stated relatively earlier than any other districts in the division. Pune was followed by Solapur, Satara, and Sangli where cases saw a sharp rise, however, Kolhapur was at the lower side then. We are expecting that is going to follow the same trajectory,” he said.
Among the reasons behind the high CFR, Rao said, could be late reporting, and migration of people from other destinations.
In the first wave also, in the initial phase, the CFR of the Kolhapur district was on the higher side. “[During the first wave], there were complaints that senior doctors were not visiting patients. The task force was sent to avoid a repeat of that situation,” he said.
“The team is also checking if there is any other variants in the region,” he said.
